One of then first adventures Piper and I did together in Islita is an early morning Monkey Hike. Howler monkeys aren't very hard to find when they scream through the morning quiet, and enough people on the acreage call in tips to the guide. This time, we explored a few cold trails (and saw a vine snake) before we came across the howlers. This shot of Mama and Baby through the guide's shot is the best picture I got...and I'll freely admit that I just handed my camera to the guide.
Later, Piper and Dwayne went to the macaw reserve. It was an extra $20 per person, and I think we would have been frustrated had we spent the money for all 5 of us. But they got to see some macaws from a distance and get a lecture.
The little lizards are exciting, too, even if not overly photogenic as they crowd around the insect-attracting lights at night.
On one of our last days, Piper and I got up for the 6am Birding Walk. Neither of us have any strong birding fascination, but we like this sort of adventure (have you noticed Piper is the common thread through all the animal hikes we did?) and wanted to learn. We saw about 15 types of birds and one rare enough for our guide (who can tell at a glance exactly which of the dozen types of yellow breasted flycatchers is flitting about 50 feet away!) to get excited about.
Piper and I thought it was fun to see the parakeets play in the tree tops near the beach!
Wildlife in Costa Rica is exciting just because it's so different--and more colorful--than many of our PNW critters. But going with knowledgeable guides made the animals interesting beyond just their novelty for us. I'm going to keep that in mind as we go out for more animal adventures!
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